The Bluetooth SIG added Apple and Nordic Semiconductor as members of the organization's board of directors on Tuesday, giving each more of a say into the direction of the technology.

The two join Intel, Motorola, Lenovo, Nokia, Microsoft, Ericsson, and Toshiba as board members. Both Apple and Nordic will serve two-year terms, beginning on July 1.

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless protocol that is often used to connect mobile phones to peripheral devices, although it can be used to connect printers and PCs, wireless headphones, and other short-range devices. The SIG launched the most recent version of the standard, Bluetooth 4.0, in 2010, with a new low-power technology. According to the SIG, the new 4.0 core specification should allow devices to run on coin-cell batteries "for years," according to the SIG, with the new ultra-low-power duty mode.

As board members, Apple, Nordic, and the others will be highly involved in influencing the direction of the Bluetooth specification, even if the companies won't get early access to the technology.

The Bluetooth SIG counts 13,000 companies as members, leaving the board members in rarefied territory. In 2008, the SIG said that its members had shipped over 2 billion Bluetooth devices in about ten years.

"Bluetooth technology has been the main R&D focus at Nordic for the last six years and we are now in a position to enable new and exciting products for consumers," said Svenn-Tore Larsen, chief executive of Nordic Semiconductor. "With our success in ultra-low power wireless technology, we know the market, applications and the customers. Nordic is proud to have the opportunity to extend this knowledge to the Bluetooth community."

Nordic Semi, headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, has developed ultra-low-power wireless chips in the unlicensed 2.4-GHz range.